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Latvia to send European Commission letter asking to continue work on case of trawler's arrest in Norway

BC, Riga, 15.03.2017.Print version
The Saeima Foreign Affairs Committee will send the European Commission a letter requesting to continue work on the case of the Latvian trawler arrested in Norway for catching snow crab in its waters, LETA learned at the committee’s meeting.

The letter describes the essence of the problem, expresses support for the European Commission’s position and explains Latvia’s stance on the issue. Ojars Eriks Kalnins, chairman of the Saeima Foreign Affairs Committee, told that the letter is intended as a signal to Norway and the European Commission that Saeima is following the case. “We maintain that Latvian and European vessels are entitled to catching snow crab,” Kalnins said.


Kalnins believes that the dispute between the EU and Norway has to be solved and does not think that the EU might lose the case. The Latvian lawmakers, however, understands Norway’s concerns about the implications of an unfavorable resolution of the situation.


“For Norway, it is a matter of principle. They are mostly concerned about the continental shelf and its future. They fear that if they allow catching crab others will also want to drill for oil there, so it is a matter of wording. It is necessary to formulate that the permission only applies to animals, not oil extraction,” said Kalnins.


As reported, the Latvian crab trawler Senator was arrested on January 16 this year for fishing snow crab in Norwegian waters off the Svalbard (Spitzbergen) archipelago. The Norwegians insist that the Latvian vessel had been fishing there illegally while Latvia maintains the fishermen had been acting in compliance with international agreements.


After the incident, the Latvian Foreign Ministry presented a note to the Norwegian Embassy in Riga, asking to release the Latvian crab trawler with a crew of 30 people held in Norway and not to interfere with crab fishing which has been taking place in accordance with international agreements.


Norwegian Ambassador to Latvia Steinar Egil Hagen earlier insisted that Norway had the authority to issue licenses for crabbing on its continental shelf, and the EU and Latvia could not get such licenses without Norway's consent.






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